Ezra · Chapter 1

V. 1. Fulfilled-Nebuchadnezzar carried many of the Jews into captivity in the first year of his reign (the fourth of Jehoiakim). He reigned forty-five years, his son Evil-merodach twenty-three, and his grandson Belshazzar, three years, which make up the seventy years foretold by Jeremiah. First year-Of his reign in Babylon: for he had been king of Persia for many years.

Verse 1. Now in the first year] This is word for word with the two last verses of the preceding book; which stand here in their proper place and connection, but there are entirely destitute of chronological connection and reference.

Cyrus] This prince, so eminent in antiquity, is said to have been the son of Cambyses king of Persia, and Mandane, daughter of Astyages king of the Medes; and was born about six hundred years before Christ. Josephus accounts for his partiality to the Jews from this circumstance; that he was shown the places in Isaiah the prophet where he is mentioned by name, and his exploits and conquests foretold: see Isaiah 44:28; 45:1, &c. Finding himself thus distinguished by the God of the Jews, he was anxious to give him proofs of his gratitude in return; and so made the decree in favour of the Jews, restored their sacred vessels, gave them liberty to return to their own land, and encouraged them to rebuild the temple of Jehovah, &c.

It is very probable that when Cyrus took Babylon he found Daniel there, who had been long famed as one of the wisest ministers of state in all the East; and it is most likely that it was this person who pointed out to him the prophecy of Isaiah, and gave him those farther intimations relative to the Divine will which were revealed to himself. Of his death there are contradictory accounts. Herodotus says, that having turned his arms against the Massagetes, and killed the son of Tomyris their queen, the mother, impatient to avenge the death of her son, sent him a defiance; promised to glut him with blood; and, having attacked him, pretended to be worsted and to fly; and thus she drew him and his army into an ambuscade, where he was routed and slain, and a considerable part of his army destroyed. The enraged queen having found his body, cut off his head, and threw it into a vessel full of human blood, with this most bitter sarcasm:— Eu men, emeu zwshv te kai nikwshv ev machn, apwlesav

paida ton emon, elwn dolw se dJ egw, kataper hpeilhsa,

aimatov koresw. -HEROD. Clio, c. 214.

“Although living and victorious, thou hast destroyed me in slaying my son, whom thou hast overcome by deceit; but, as I have threatened, I will now slake thy thirst with blood.”

Cyrus, thy thirst was blood, now drink thy fill.

By-Jeremiah] This prophet, Jeremiah 25:12; 29:11, had foretold that the Babylonish captivity should last only seventy years: these were now ended; Cyrus had given the Jews permission and encouragement to return to Judea, and rebuild the temple of the Lord; and thus the prediction of Jeremiah was fulfilled.

Verse 1. Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia — This is that famous Cyrus who, one hundred and forty years before the temple was destroyed, and two hundred years before he was born, was mentioned by name in the prophecies of Isaiah, as raised up, and appointed by God, for the restoration of his people, Isaiah 44:28, and 45:1, 4. This remarkable prediction, it is probable, Daniel showed to Cyrus, and that it induced him to give forth the following edict. So Prideaux thinks, with many other learned men. Cyrus, it appears, at his first coming to Babylon, found Daniel there, an old minister of state, famed for his great wisdom over all the East; and hence he not only himself employed him as such, but, upon settling the government, made him first superintendent, or prime minister of state, over all the provinces of the empire. In this station of life Daniel must have been a person of great authority at court, and highly in the esteem of his prince; and, as there could be no doubt but he would use his good offices in behalf of the enlargement of the Jews, so it is not likely he should use them in vain, especially if he showed Cyrus the prophecies just mentioned, which, it is evident from the decree itself, that Cyrus had seen. It must be observed that, strictly speaking, this decree was not given forth in the first year of Cyrus’s reign; for then the Jews were not his subjects; but in the first year after his conquest of Babylon, where the Jews then lived in captivity. That the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled — Who foretold that after seventy years the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans should be destroyed, and the people of Judah restored to their own land. This prophecy was first delivered in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar; and the same year Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judea, besieged and took Jerusalem, made Jehoiakim his subject and tributary, transported the finest children of the royal family and of the nobility to Babylon, to be bred up there for eunuchs and slaves in his palace, and also carried away the vessels of the house of the Lord and put them in the temple of his god at Babylon. Seventy years from this time will bring us down to the first year of Cyrus, (2 Chronicles 36:22; Ezra 1:3,) when he made his proclamation for the restoration of the Jews, and for the building of the temple at Jerusalem. This computation of the seventy years captivity appears to many to be the truest and most agreeable to Scripture. But, if we fix the commencement of these seventy years at the time when Jerusalem was burned and destroyed, their conclusion will fall about the time when Darius issued his decree for rebuilding the temple, after the work had been suspended and stopped. Or, if we fix their commencement at the time when Nebuzaradan carried away the last remainder of the people, and completed the desolation of the land, their conclusion will fall about the time when the temple was finished and dedicated, and the first passover was solemnized in it. “So that,” as Dean Prideaux says, “taking it which way we will, and at what stage we please, the prophecy of Jeremiah will be fully and exactly accomplished concerning this matter.” It may be said to have been accomplished, indeed, at three different times, and in three different manners, and therefore, possibly, all might have been intended, though the first, without doubt, was the principal subject of the prophecy.

The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia — God, who had long before designed him for this work, now suggested these thoughts and intentions to him, and excited him to begin to prosecute them, (for it was not all accomplished in the first year of Cyrus,) which he did, not only by causing his will and pleasure to be proclaimed, but to be put in writing, that none might mistake his meaning.

Verse 1. In the first year of Cyrus. Darius had the title of king of Babylon; but according to Xenophon, Cyrus had the throne, and remained in the city. After two years Darius died, and left him the whole of the empire. It is very remarkable that the Assyrian and the Babylonian empires, which successively commanded the east, should both fall when there was no appearance of serious danger, nor the most distant expectation of ruin a little before the event. These empires were wicked beyond a name; and while they seemed to slumber on the lap of pleasure, heaven from little clouds was gathering the vengeance which so suddenly burst upon their heads. When the time is come, God is rich in resources to punish the wicked, and to protect his people. Cyrus left Persia with about thirty thousand well appointed men. He made a circuitous expedition through six or seven states; and partly by force, but more by generosity, he gained a prince and an army to accompany him from every nation. With these forces, and forces emboldened by success in every expedition, he gave the Babylonians battle in the plain before their city. The immense and effeminate multitude of his foes scarcely awaited the first charge before they fled, and exposed their retreat to prodigious slaughter. There was however one column of veteran Egyptian troops which kept their ground, and boldly stood alone like a rock in the ocean surrounded with waves. Crossing their pikes, and covering themselves with their shields, they bade defiance to every charge, whether of chariots, or of cavalry. Cyrus, finding force of no avail; for one of his kings and many of his best troops lay dead at their feet; ordered his men to retreat, and approached this brave column with a trumpeter, and asked what they meant to do. In short, he was obliged to promise them lots of land before they would surrender. After the battle, he encompassed the city with a very deep ditch to make the blockade easy for his men; for the walls were too high and too thick to be sealed. The Babylonians were confident that nothing but famine could reduce them, and that the rainy season would oblige their enemies to decamp. In this confidence Belshazzar kept his great feast, when the handwriting appeared on the wall, which Daniel interpreted: and the venerable prophet had little more than passed sentence on this most profligate court, before heaven executed the blow. In that same night, Cyrus, presuming on the intoxication of the city, opened a wide communication between the river and his trenches, which so diminished its stream, that his army marched into the city in the bed of the river, slew all they found in the streets, stormed the palace, and killed the king. So Babylon in all its pride, and wealth, and crimes, fell to rise no more. Daniel

5. Xenophon’s Cyropediæ. Rollin’s Ancient History.

CYRUS’S PROCLAMATION TO REBUILD THE TEMPLE, 1-4.

1. The first year — Not the first year of his becoming sovereign of the Persians, but the first of his immediate rule over Babylon, and the provinces of Western Asia, which had previously belonged to the Babylonian empire. Upon the fall of Babylon, Darius the Mede had taken that kingdom, (Daniel 5:31; 9:1; 11:1,) and reigned there for a year or more before Cyrus assumed direct control. Daniel 6:28. Cyrus king of Persia — Concerning the birth and early life of this illustrious man the ancient authors (Herodotus, Xenophon, Ctesias, and Nicolaus Damascenus) disagree, and it is impossible to decide with certainty whose account is most correct; but all agree that with him the Persian empire arose from comparative insignificance to be the greatest power that had ever ruled all Western Asia. Cyrus’s first great act was to defeat Astyages — his grandfather, according to Herodotus and Xenophon — and subject the Medes to the Persians. Soon after, he conquered and added to his empire the ancient kingdom of Lydia, in Asia Minor. Then followed the fall of Babylon and of other kingdoms before his victorious armies. When he began to reign at Babylon he doubtless heard of Daniel, and, perhaps, had personal intercourse with him. Some have thought, and not without reason, that this prophet called his attention to Isaiah’s oracles concerning him, (Isaiah 44:28; 45:1,) that he should restore the Jews and rebuild the temple, and thus show himself Jehovah’s “shepherd” and “anointed” one. Word of the Lord by… Jeremiah — See especially Jeremiah 25:12: “When seventy years are accomplished, I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity.” Reckoning from the first invasion of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, more than a year before he became sole king of Babylon, (2 Kings 24:1, note,) we find just seventy years had elapsed at the first year of Cyrus. Thus Nebuchadnezzar 45, Evil-Merodach 2, Neriglissar 4, Nabonadius 17, Darius the Mede 2=70. Thus the seventy years of Jewish captivity synchronized very closely with the seventy years of the Babylonian empire. Differences of opinion prevail, however, as to the period covered by the seventy years’ captivity. Some reckon them from the destruction of the first temple to the completion of the second, 588 to 515 B.C. But Jeremiah’s prophecy seems clearly to make the fall of Babylon the terminus ad quem of the seventy years, and this would place the terminus a quo at Nebuchadnezzar’s first invasion of Palestine, when Daniel and other Jewish captives were taken to Babylon. See note on 2 Kings 24:1. Hence, when Babylon fell and Darius was set over that realm, Daniel understood that the seventy years were about expired. Daniel 9:1. The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus — Probably by the words of Daniel, who may have called his attention to Isaiah’s prophecies concerning him. It is interesting to observe in this connexion that the religion of the early Persians was monotheistic — the comparatively pure system of Zoroaster; and this may explain the sympathy which Cyrus seems to have had for the Jews, and his readiness, at so early a period of his reign, to allow them to return from exile and rebuild their temple. See on the next verse. Made a proclamation — Literally, caused a voice to pass in all his kingdom; that is, announced by criers. Not only was the announcement made orally, but it was published also in writing, and probably laid up among the archives of the kingdom, from which a copy of it was taken by our author.

V. 2. All, &c.-In those parts of the world; all that vast empire formerly under the Assyrians and Babylonians. The gift of which he ascribes to the great God; by that express prophecy of Isaiah concerning him, Isaiah 44:28 45:1,13, so long before he was born; which prophecy the Jews had doubtlessly shewed him, which also carried a great evidence with it, especially to him who was so highly encouraged by it: or by a special illumination which God vouchsafed to him, as he did to Nebuchadnezzar and Darius, and some other Heathen princes.

Verse 2. The Lord God of heaven] It is not unworthy of remark, that in all the books written prior to the captivity, Jehovah is called The Lord of Hosts; but in all the books written after the captivity, as 2 Chronicles, Ezra Nehemiah, and Daniel, he is styled The God of Heaven. The words however have the same meaning.

All the kingdoms of the earth. At this time the empire of the Medo-Persians was very extensive: according to ancient writers, Cyrus, at this time, reigned over the Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Armenians, Syrians, Assyrians, Arabians, Cappadocians, Phrygians, Lydians Phœnicians, Babylonians, Bactrians, Indians, Saci, Cilicians, Paphlagonians, Moriandrians, and many others. His empire extended on the EAST, to the Red Sea; on the NORTH, to the Euxine Sea; on the WEST, to the island of Cyprus and Egypt; and on the SOUTH, to Ethiopia.

Verse 2. The Lord God of heaven — It is observable, says Mr. Locke, that God, in the former books, is called the Lord of hosts, but in the last of Chronicles, in this, in Nehemiah, and Daniel, that is, in the books written after the captivity, he is styled the God of heaven, and not Lord of hosts, though the sense of both expressions is the same. Probably those who showed or interpreted to Cyrus the prophecy of Isaiah concerning himself, acquainted him that the God, whose prophet Isaiah was, was worshipped by the Jews, not as the God of their particular country merely, but as the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth. And Cyrus, though it is likely he did not entirely forsake the religion of his country, yet might acknowledge and revere Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, as the true and great God. For, though the Jews were strictly commanded to worship one God, and not to admit another into fellowship with him, yet many in the heathen nations, while they worshipped idols, acknowledged a true and supreme God, and often worshipped the gods of other countries in common with their own. Hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth — All in those parts of the world; all those large dominions which the Assyrians and Babylonians had possessed: the eastern kings were wont, as they are still, to speak magnificently of their dominions. The gift of these Cyrus ascribes to the great God, through the above-mentioned prophecy of Isaiah concerning him, which must have carried a great evidence with it, especially to him who was so highly encouraged by it; or through some special illumination which God had vouchsafed to him, as he had to Nebuchadnezzar and Darius, and some other heathen princes. And he hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem — So he might conclude from the prophecy just referred to, (Isaiah 45:13,) where God says of Cyrus, He shall build my city, of which the temple was a principal part, and more plainly from Isaiah 44:28, He shall say to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

2. Thus saith Cyrus — “There are probably few things more surprising to the intelligent student of Scripture than the religious tone of the proclamations which are assigned in Ezra to Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes. Compare Ezra 6:8-10; 7:12, 23. Two things are especially remarkable in these passages — first, the strongly marked religious character, very unusual in heathen documents; and, secondly, the distinctness with which they assert the unity of God, and thence identify the God of the Persians with the God of the Jews. Both these points receive abundant illustration from the Persian cuneiform inscriptions, in which the recognition of a single supreme God — Ormazd — and the clear and constant ascription to him of the direction of all mundane affairs, are leading features. In all the Persian monuments of any length, the monarch makes the acknowledgment that ‘Ormazd has bestowed on him his empire.’ Every success that is gained is ‘by the grace of Ormazd.’ The name of Ormazd occurs in almost every other paragraph of the Behistun inscription. No public monuments with such a pervading religious spirit have ever been discovered among the records of any heathen nation as those of the Persian kings; and through them all, down to the time of Artaxerxes Ochus, the name of Ormazd stands alone and unapproachable as that of the Supreme Lord of earth and heaven.” — RAWLINSON, Hist. Evid., p. 147.

The same distinguished writer says in another work: “The conquest of Babylon by Persia was practically, if not a death-blow, at least a severe wound, to that sensuous idol-worship which had for more than twenty centuries been the almost universal religion in the countries between the Mediterranean and the Zagros mountain range. That religion never recovered itself — was never reinstated. It survived, a longer or shorter time, in places. To a slight extent it corrupted Zoroastrianism; but, on the whole, from the date of the fall of Babylon it declined. ‘Bel bowed down, Nebo stooped,’ (Isaiah 46:1;) ‘Merodach was broken in pieces;’ judgment was done upon the Babylonian graven images, (Jeremiah 50:2; 51:52;) and the system of which they formed a necessary part having once fallen from its proud pre-eminence, gradually decayed and vanished. “Parallel with the decline of the old Semitic idolatry was the advance of its direct antithesis, pure spiritual monotheism. The same blow which laid the Babylonian religion in the dust struck off the fetters from Judaism. Purified and refined by the precious discipline of adversity, the Jewish system which Cyrus, feeling towards it a natural sympathy, protected, upheld, and replaced in its proper locality, advanced from this time in influence and importance, leavening little by little the foul mass of superstition and impurity which came in contact with it. Proselytism grew more common. The Jews spread themselves wider. The return from the captivity, which Cyrus authorized almost immediately after the capture of Babylon, is the starting-point from which we may trace a gradual enlightenment of the heathen world by the dissemination of Jewish beliefs and practices; such dissemination being greatly helped by the high estimation in which the Jewish system was held by the civil authority, both while the empire of the Persians lasted, and when power passed to the Macedonians.” — Ancient Monarchies, vol. iii, p. 385.

Lord God of heaven — The writer uses Jehovah, “LORD,” instead of Ormazd, in this edict. A common formula in the Persian inscriptions is, “The great God Ormazd, who gave both earth and heaven to mankind.” Given me all the kingdoms — In the Behistun inscription, Darius says, “Ormazd granted me the empire. By the grace of Ormazd I hold this empire.” Charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem — Bertheau thinks that our author entirely recast Cyrus’s edict from his own theocratic standpoint. The king’s proclamation probably contained abundant references to Ormazd as the God by whose grace and direction he received and administered the kingdom, and our historian, acknowledging no other God than Jehovah, translated the edict in the form we now have it, substituting Jehovah for Ormazd, and otherwise altering it to suit his own religious ideas. This supposition may be partly true. Cyrus did not issue his proclamation in the Hebrew language, and, probably after the manner of the Persian inscriptions, he used the name of Ormazd and not Jehovah, and in these respects our author may have modified the phraseology in his translation; but, granting even this, it is not only possible, but highly probable, that, as Josephus and the older expositors hold, Cyrus had been shown Isaiah’s prophecies, where Jehovah says of Cyrus, “He shall say to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.” Isaiah 44:28. Nor is it in the least improbable that Daniel, who stood high in the court of Babylon under Darius and Cyrus, (Daniel 6:2, 28,) advised Cyrus of Isaiah’s prophecies, and also had something to do with the drawing up of this proclamation. The king regarded these prophecies as a divine charge to build the temple.

Verse 3. Who is there among you of all his people? — Not of the tribe of Judah only, but of Israel also, who were under his government, the Assyrians and Medes, among whom they were scattered, being his subjects. Accordingly Josephus says, that Zerubbabel sent the edict of Cyrus into Media to the rest of the tribes. His God be with him — Let his God help him, as I also shall; and let him go up to Jerusalem — Thus he not only makes a proclamation to them of liberty to go to their own country, but desires them to go, and prays God to be with them, and prosper them in building his house, saying, He is the God, and thereby evidently acknowledging him to be the true, if not also the only God.

3. All his people — No distinction of Judah and Israel is recognized in this proclamation, but the whole Israelitish population throughout the land is addressed. It was natural, however, that “Judah and Benjamin,” the last in exile, in whose hearts the memory of Jerusalem and the fatherland was freshest, were the first and chief ones to respond. Verse 5. His God be with him… Lord God of Israel, he is the God — See notes on verse 2 concerning Persian monotheism and reverence for the Supreme God.

Verse 4. Whosoever remaineth in any place] Every one was at liberty to go, but none was obliged to go. Thus their attachment to God was tried; he whose heart was right with God went; he who was comfortably settled in Babylon, might go if he chose. Those who did not go, were commanded to assist their brethren who went.

Verse 4. Whosoever remaineth in any place where be sojourneth, &c. — This seems to relate to such as were desirous to go up with their brethren, but were forced to stay behind for want of necessaries to support them in so long a journey. To such he would have a supply of all things needful to be given by the inhabitants of the places where they lived, who could afford it, besides sending by them an offering toward the rebuilding of the temple.

4. Whosoever remaineth — Or rather, all the remnant, that is, all the exiles still living. Compare the use of the same word in Nehemiah 1:2. The word is best taken as nominative absolute, and as for all the remnant. In any place where he sojourneth — Rather, From all the places where he has been dwelling. This phrase is to be construed with what follows, thus: Let the inhabitants of any place out of all the places where the exiles have been dwelling, help those exiles, etc. The men of his place — The non-Israelitish population, or any others who do not accompany the exiles that volunteer to return to Jerusalem. Josephus states that many of the wealthier Jews remained at Babylon, not being willing to leave their possessions there. Goods — Movable property; perhaps especially, household goods. Freewill offering — Gifts of money, or vessels, or beasts for sacrifice — any oblation that might be deemed appropriate or of value.

V. 5. Then rose up, &c.-These being a new generation, went out like their father Abraham, from this land of the Chaldees, not knowing whither they went.

Verse 5. Then rose up the chief of the fathers, &c. — Eminent and experienced men, from whom it might justly be expected, that, as they were above their brethren in dignity, so they should go before them in duty. Of Judah and Benjamin — And with them some of the other tribes, as appears from 1 Chronicles 9:3; but these only are named, because they were most considerable for number and quality. And the priests and Levites — Who, as became them, were among the first that set their faces toward Zion. If any good work is to be done, let ministers take the lead in it. With all whose spirit God had raised, to go up — Whom he had inspired with reverence and love for himself as the God of Israel, and a deep concern for the restoration of his worship at Jerusalem, and with that resolution and fortitude which were requisite to enable them to break through the difficulties and discouragements which were in their way. These were undoubtedly great and many; such as their present penury; the length, and hazards, and expenses of the journey; their being dispersed in several and distant places, which prevented the conjunction of their counsels and actions; the multitude of their enemies; the actual possession of their country by others; the ruinous state of Jerusalem, and the other cities and towns of Judea; and the great backwardness of many of their own brethren to go with them. Add to this, the temptation was strong to some of them to stay in Babylon, being conveniently and comfortably settled there, and having contracted an acquaintance with their neighbours, such as was agreeable and pleasing to them. By these and such like considerations, many were induced to remain where they were, or at least not to go with the first that went. But there were some that broke through these difficulties, and they were those whose spirits God had raised up: whom by his Spirit he had inspired with a generous desire of liberty, and a gracious affection to their own land, the land God had given them, and a desire for the free and public exercise of their religion. Had God left them to themselves, and to the counsels of flesh and blood, they would have stayed in Babylon: but, as he had raised up the spirit of Cyrus to proclaim this liberty, so he raised up their spirits to take the benefit of it, and set their faces toward Zion, as strangers asking the way thither, Jeremiah 50:5. For, being a new generation, they went out, like their father Abraham, from this land of the Chaldees, not knowing whither they went.

PREPARATIONS TO RETURN FROM EXILE, 5-11.

5. Chief of the fathers — The most aged and venerable men, who were heads of families, and some of whom had seen the former temple. Ezra 3:12. Judah and Benjamin — These tribes, last exiled, were the first to return. Doubtless with them some descendants of other tribes also returned, and when the temple was finished twelve he goats were offered at the dedication, according to the number of the twelve tribes. Ezra 6:17; compare also Ezra 8:35; and 1 Chronicles 9:3. Priests… Levites — Without these the temple service could not be properly administered, nor the sacrifices legally offered. With all — Bertheau makes all in apposition with fathers, priests, and Levites, thus: — The chief of the fathers, and the priests and the Levites, in short, all whose spirit, etc. But we prefer to take the preposition with (l) in the sense of together with, showing that others besides the chief fathers and the Levites rose up to return to Jerusalem. None, however, either among fathers or Levites, or others, went up except those whose spirit God had raised. The word rendered had raised is the same as that rendered stirred up, in verse 1, and here means roused up and thrilled with strong desire to go and rebuild the temple.

V. 6. Strengthened their hands-God can, when he pleases, incline the hearts of strangers to be kind to his people; yea, make those strengthen their hands, who formerly weakened them.

Verse 6. Vessels of silver] Articles of silver, gold, &c.

Verse 6. All that were about them strengthened their hands — Some of them, probably, because they had embraced, or at least favoured, the Jewish religion, concerning which they had been instructed by the Israelites, who had now for a long time dwelt among them; and others, that they might hereby gratify the king, and procure his favour, perceiving him to be friendly to the Jews, and forward and hearty in the work of helping them. Thus God, when he pleases, can incline the hearts of strangers to be kind to his people; yea, make those strengthen their hands, who formerly weakened them.

6. All they that were about them — That is, the neighbours and friends of those exiles who rose up to return, especially the wealthier Jews, who, as Patrick says, “being well settled at Babylon, did not think fit to stir till they saw how these would succeed.” Strengthened their hands — That is, as the margin explains, helped them; assisted and cheered them by the presents and provisions immediately named. This was done in accordance with Cyrus’s decree. Besides all that was willingly offered — The presents previously named were given by order of the king; but besides these gifts others of the same or similar nature were contributed spontaneously by persons who, unable to go themselves, were anxious to encourage and help those who did go.

Verse 7. The king brought forth the vessels] See on Ezra 1:9-11.

7. The king brought forth the vessels — He not only ordered others to give, but set the example by himself giving from the treasures of the kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar had brought — See 2 Kings 24:13; 2 Chronicles 36:7; Daniel 1:2. Some of these vessels had been sacrilegiously used by Belshazzar and his lords on that night of revelry when Babylon was taken, and Belshazzar slain. Daniel 5:2, 3.

V. 8. Sheshbazzar-Zerubbabel; the Chaldeans called him Sheshbazzar, that is, Joy in tribulation, but among his own people he was called Zerubbabel, a stranger in Babylon. So he looked upon himself, tho’ (Josephus says) he was captain of the life-guard.

Verse 8. Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah.] This was probably the Chaldean name of him who was originally called Zerubbabel: the former signifies joy in affliction; the latter, a stranger in Babylon. The latter may be designed to refer to his captive state; the former, to the prospect of release. Some think this was quite a different person, a Persian or Chaldean, sent by Cyrus to superintend whatever officers or men Cyrus might have sent to assist the Jews on their return; and to procure them help in the Chaldean provinces, through which they might be obliged to travel.

Verse 8. And numbered them — Caused them to be delivered to the Jews by number; unto Sheshbazzar, the prince of Judah — The captain and governor of these returning Jews, Ezra 2:2. The sceptre, therefore, was not yet departed from Judah. This person’s name was originally Zerubbabel, but it was common for the great men of Judah, at the time of the captivity, to have two names, one of their own country, which was domestic, and another of the Chaldeans, which was used at court. “Zerubbabel was born at Babylon, and his name, which signifies an exile, or stranger in Babylon, implies the misery of the people of Israel at that time; but Sheshbazzar, which is a compound of two words, signifying fine linen and gold, seems to be a name of better omen, and to denote their future and more flourishing condition. So Bishop Patrick. Dr. Trapp, however, says that Sheshbazzar signifies joy in tribulation. Some are of opinion, that among the sacred things which Cyrus ordered to be restored, the ark of the covenant was one; but it nowhere appears that this ark was carried from Jerusalem to Babylon. They tell us, indeed, that in the second temple sacrifices were offered as in the first, and all solemn days observed, especially the great day of expiation, when the law ordained that the blood should be sprinkled before the mercy-seat, and the mercy-seat, say they, was part of the ark; but besides that the ark, without the Shechinah, (which was then certainly withdrawn,) would have been of no great significance, the Jews universally acknowledge that the ark was one of the five things which were wanting in the second temple.” — Dodd.

Ver. 8. Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. His Hebrew name was Zerubbabel, or exile in Babylon, being born there; but his benefactors had probably changed it for a more elegant name, equivalent to the sources of all riches, or rejoicing in tribulation.

8. Sheshbazzar — The Chaldee or Persian name of the prince of Judah, who is elsewhere called Zerubbabel. Ezra 2:2; 3:2, 8; 4:2, etc.; compare Ezra 5:16, and Zechariah 4:9. He was the leader and captain of this first band of exiles that returned to Jerusalem, as well as the chief director and superintendent of the rebuilding of the temple.

9. Chargers — Basins or cups. Sept. yukthrev; Vulg. phialae, drinking vessels. According to Aben Ezra, they were basins used for collecting the blood of lambs. Others take the word in the sense of baskets. Knives — µypljm. Commonly explained as the slaughter knives by which the sacrificial victims were killed. The feminine form of the same word is used in Judges 16:13, 19, for braids of hair, whence Ewald conjectures that the meaning here is some sort of vessels adorned with plaited work. Bertheau suggests that they were coal-pans, or censers, like those mentioned in 1 Kings 7:50.

10. Basins — Cups or goblets with a cover. Of a second sort — Of secondary value as to their material, and used in less honourable service than the golden basins. Other vessels — Compare the various vessels of the temple mentioned in 1 Kings 7:45-50.

Verse 11. All the vessels-were five thousand and four hundred.] This place is without doubt corrupted; here it is said the sum of all the vessels, of every quality and kind, was five thousand four hundred; but the enumeration of the articles, as given in Ezra 1:9, 10, gives the sum of two thousand four hundred and ninety-nine only. But we can correct this account from 1Esdras 2:13, 14.

I shall set both accounts down, that they may be compared together. EZRA, Ezra 1:9-11.

Golden chargers 30

Silver chargers 1000

Knives 29

Golden basons 30

Silver ditto, second sort 410

Other vessels 1000

——

Said to be 5400 — only 2499

——

Difference of the first account from itself 2901

1 ESDRAS, 1Esdras 2:13, 14.

Golden cups 1000

Silver cups 1000

Silver censers 29

Golden vials 30

Silver vials 2410

Other vessels 1000

—Total — 5469

——

Difference of the second account from the first 69

According, therefore, to the sum total in Ezra, the sum total in Esdras is only 69 different. See the next chapter.

It may be said that the vessels did actually amount to 5400, and that the chief of them only were intended to be specified; and these happen to amount to 2499; but that it was not the design of Ezra to insert the whole; and that the ninth verse should be considered as stating, And of the chief of them, that is, the gold and silver articles, this is the number. But the expression in Ezra 1:10, other vessels, sets this conjecture aside: the place is most manifestly corrupted.

EZRA

11. Five thousand and four hundred — This sum does not agree with the preceding numbers, which are 30+1,000+29+30+410+1,000=2,499. In 1 Esdras 2:13, 14, the number of vessels mentioned amounts to 5,469. Some expositors think the enumeration of vessels (in verses 9 and 10) includes only the larger and more costly, while the gross sum here mentioned includes all, both small and great, which Nebuchadnezzar carried away. But that explanation is arbitrary and conjectural. The probability is that some of the numbers here are corrupt, but all attempts now to amend the text are mere conjectures.